Lipton

I remember buying a box of 16 Lipton “the brisk tea” in New Hampshire when I was 11 or 12. It seemed awesome at the time perhaps a gateway to all my adult habits/pleasures. This would have been in the 1980’s. Either their quality has gone way down or I had a box of particularly fresh tea at the time. There’s even a picture of Neil Young inside an album cover from the early 70’s brewing a cuppa Lipton. I drink tea all the time, but whenever I try Lipton “brisk” it is often stale due to being simply packaged in paper. The tea quality is mediocre at best, but likely stored poorly. Lipton is the Number One tea in places (2 star restaurants, diners and delis) where tea is misbrewed, disrespected, and clearly an afterthought for a beverage. The leaves are greyish black rather than a the robust brown/black color that most good everyday black teas have.
I think that my 11 or 12 year old self loved that box of Lipton Brisk, because he was comparing it to Salada black which was the only comparison. Maybe it was the hand pumped well water in New Hampshire that made that “brisk tea” so memorable.
Boiling quality water is essential for any good tea. Lipton is often served with horrible warmish water in most places that serve it.

The July TeaLog Catchup !

Last cup of the day when staying at my parents. Drank while doing emails, playing my turns on CC, and reading tealogs here. This was also the last bag in the box and I have no idea what water temperature I used, but it was not boiling. I now need to stock some more no/lower caffeine options there. I’m thinking about making a Harney bagged teas order. I need to look into that.

The Barb & Bob Backlog continued.

This was my Tuesday last night tea. Much better than the peach of the previous night. Again, five days later I cannot remember my brewing time lol.

Backlogging. 8 days ago. Friday late night.

The February Backlog: From the 1st to today.

Enjoyed while gaming on laptop in bed after a mini bag of buttered popcorn. I don’t know the water temperature – it was barely steaming – and cannot remember the steep time again.

Backlogging. 3 days ago. Late Wednesday night.

This one was my late night cup of tea at my parent’s while studying then doing Conquer Club. They have mostly black teas. This being one of the few less or no caffeine options. Generically green and orange. Nice enough for a hot cup to sip on.

I do not have a thermometer there so I watch the water for barely steaming/bubbling. Nor do I remember my steep time. I think it was about 2-3 minutes though.

I’m rating this one a 55 (nice bagged tea range is 50-60).

Had this in a hotel room one evening
It’s pretty bad. I could hardly recognize the chamomile taste; it’s as if only the stems, leaves had made it into the bag, while the flowers had been sent to another product.
There’s a faint bitterness to the brew and nothing flowery.
Not vile but really not good either.

Maybe it’s just a reflection of a deeply unrefined palate, but I love this tea. Cozy, sweet, discernible vanilla flavour, doesn’t get gross if you let it steep it too long. This one’s pretty foolproof. I’d buy it again.

I always seem to come back to this tea. I love it, in all its crappy corporate glory.

It does actually manage to taste good… Smooth and subtly fruity. Low maintenance. Ideal for work. I more than likely will finish the box, forget about it for a year, and then buy a new box and enjoy it again for its consistency and light, inoffensive flavor.

Last night, I went through my ridiculous tea collection and dug out the boxes of teas that have only five or so servings left, and I put them in a separate box. They are now Priority Teas, meaning that I’m not allowed to buy any new teas until I’ve finished them.

This is one of the Priority Teas.

I know it’s crappy Lipton, but this one really is good. it was nice and light and fruity but not overly sweet, which I definitely appreciated.

Oldie but a goodie. So perfectly blended and flavorful! This tea is what made me realize that I love green tea.

I know Lipton is considered low-end tea sometimes, but I like it because it’s familiar. Drinking a cup of Lipton is like visiting your best friend from college after not seeing him or her for six years, and picking up right where you left off. I feel like I’m ten again, taking my first faltering steps into the tea world.

I’m probably the only person around who can wax poetic over a cup of bagged commercial tea. I love being me :)

Unearthed this in my tea chest while I was on a mad hunt for something to help chase the last bit of this nasty head cold away. I realized that I haven’t had this tea in over a year, so I decided to give it a whirl.

I forgot how much I liked this tea! Now, bear with me. I know it’s Lipton, which means that in the more refined tea-drinking world, it’s like what carob is to the chocolate world.

But this one is really, really, really good. It really is. It’s perfectly blended, flavorful, smooth, and I always feel better after I drink it.

Honest. It never gets bitter, even though as a berry-flavored green, the odds are stacked against it. It also smells heavenly.

I’m so glad I rediscovered this today. I must get more of it soon!

This tea is amazing! It smells wonderful dry, and I love its light, fruity flavor (I drank it hot, but I’m sure it’s fabulous iced, too)! It is even beautiful to watch as it steeps because the leaves open up in the water. This is a perfect afternoon tea, because it is not too highly caffeinated, but it will still give you a nice boost of energy. I know that the bags aren’t recyclable or particularly eco-friendly, but I think the mesh does a nice job of eliminating the papery taste that some bagged teas can have. All in all, a satisfying experience. Lipton has done well!

Just a little bitter without sweetener, but sometimes I’m in the mood for that. If not, I put a teaspoon of honey in.

Backlogging.

I wanted something warm to drink, but I had reached my caffeine limit for the moment, so made myself a cup of this to throw in my travel mug while I was out running errands. It was something to sip and enjoy without feeling that I needed to pay a lot of attention to it. I have to say, I am enjoying this one more than I thought I would.

After reading Indigobloom’s latest review of this tea I decided to give it another try. She was right, time does mellow out teas. This tea is much more drinkable than it was the first time I had it. Yay!

I’ve had a box of this tea sitting on my shelf since before I joined Steepster. The first time I had it there was an overwhelming tartness which I now recognize as the hibiscus. I couldn’t get past it, and I’m not sure I even finished the cup. Tonight there was definite berry and vanilla. I wouldn’t recognize the berry as blackberry if it wasn’t printed on the box, but it’s berry nonetheless. The hibiscus comes out as the tea cools, but as long as I drink it while it’s hot then it is a perfectly drinkable tea. It doesn’t make me want to do cartwheels, but I can see myself adding this tea to my evening teas list.

This tea is good on it’s own, but not as spicy/sweet as I like my teas. I added about 1 tablespoon of orange juice, a cinnamon stick, about 1 teaspoon of sugar, and a dash of ground cinnamon. This combination is AMAZING! It’s slightly spicy and sweet. It tastes like spiced apple cider, but more citrus notes in it.

I fell in love with this herbal tea when I tried some at my mother’s house. It’s really delicious, and I found it to have a more true to lemon taste than some other similar teas.

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: sour, grassy
After water is first poured: nutty, powdery
At end of steep: grassy, buttery
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: med green
Staple? Type yes, would not use brand again
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first: bitter, harsh, grassy
As it cools? Gets less harsh, grassy, slightly creamy, then bitter note closes
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No

I absolutely hate black teas (unless it’s sweet or iced tea) and I hate Lipton tea even more, but I’m so glad I took a chance on this one! I was pleasantly surprised to find this in pyramid mesh pouches, but the smell took me aback…it smelled just like Lipton’s regular tea. Disappointed, but hoping for the best, I made a cup and fell in love. Steeped, this turns into the most beautiful caramel amber color. The aroma is slight, but holds the attention with it’s vanilla caramel scents. The taste was wonderful, considering it’s a Lipton black tea. The black tea itself was not overpowering, but it was very present. But, toning it all down are the gentle notes of sweet savory vanilla smoothed over by the milky caramel tidbits which really makes this more of a cream tea. I will definitely keep this on hand…at work.

Oooh this tea. I love this tea for those days when I’m ill and should really be drinking fruit juice instead. The tartness from the berried and the sort of candied taste from the hibiscus remind me of Tazo’s Brambleberry tea that comes in bottles, minus the hint of cinnamon and mint. I like to add a nice spoonful of demarara sugar to my cup for an extra sweet kick.

This tea is the devil. Literally it is the most awful tea I’ve ever had in my whole life. I am willing to try any tea once. From herbal, white and green to oolong and black . . . I’ve found tea in each category I like. I took one sip and almost spit it out. The peach and mango flavor is awful and artificial and what small amount of tea flavor shines through is bitter and mineral and terrible. I was intrigued with the smell, though strong and the pyramid bags, but lets be honest, it was on sale at the grocery store. Made that one cup and then had to give it away.